Cars Might Fly
As I walk home humming to my iPod, I can pretty much keep station with the cars crawling along next to me. Sometimes one of us inches ahead of the other, but rarely do either of us have a decisive advantage. Many a time I have reflected on the absurdity of this situation as I realise that by some measures we seem to have hardly progressed since humans learned to walk on two legs.
As more and more of us become city dwellers (today over half the world’s population lives in cities), the car is becoming more and more ridiculous as a mode of transport as our cities’ arteries become increasingly clogged with cars barely travelling at walking pace.
But despite this problem becoming evermore obvious, we continue to cling doggedly to the car, wholly unwilling to give it up for the horrors of public transport.
So what’s the answer?
Perhaps it’s time for the return of the flying car idea? Richard Jones of Boeing unveiled the solution for city gridlock yesterday with the vision of a green flying car that will be the "cleanest transportation of the future".
"When your 100mpg (miles per gallon) car is stuck in traffic and a 100mpg airplane whizzes overhead, you’re going to be jealous." Richard Jones, Boeing.
I probably am going to be pretty jealous, until you try and park it.
My point is that considering the physical space limitations within most cities - which are likely to get worse and not better - we probably need to let go of the idea of personal transportation until we stop multiplying.
I recently provided an example of the reason we are having difficulty with this, to which my colleague Daryl provided the following comment:
My only real issue is the over-crowding during peak times. I would gladly pay more for a less crowded train, perhaps one that is not 25 people over stated capacity, but the idea of transit class of service would be a logistical nightmare.
But it would be cool, first class buses and train cars with Internet and Newspapers, TV’s and coffee service and the all important Canadian food group, doughnuts!
I feel a transit company idea coming on!
This is the real solution.
If we could apply the same level of ingenuity and entrepreneurship that has developed the automobile to what it is today, developed the personal computer into something usable, put the Internet into so many of our homes, given us cell phones, Tivo, and which threatens every now and then to bring us flying cars to the problem of making public transport "cool", then we may have made the breakthough of the century - the payback in terms of happiness, productivity, and particularly the environment would be incalculable.
However, as they say, cars might fly.
The problem is not the availability of cars.
It is the behavoral culture of the people.Who have from infancy been tied to the automobile.
Go to the store,the church,the baseball game,the moviehouse and so on.
Another problem is that giant stores (thus lower prices) in a large city can be at one end of that big city.Creating additional traffic problems.
Weaning them off partly is a proven difficulty.Try having a family riding the transit system.The Van is a far more desirable and easy choice.I have such a family.The Van simply takes OUT so much of the hassle of carrying the family around.
In my town we have a good transit system.That is paid partly by a county tax (it was voted in by the people) and a small trip fare fee at each boarding.The school students love it.
Flying cars will not solve anything since they will soon ALL be in the air and once again a traffic snarl shows up.
But at least it is safe to walk in the cities again.
LOL